Take a room full of Turkish shipowners and shipyard owners, add a
seasoning of energy companies, diplomats, international shipowners and
financiers, shake them up and what do you get?
A very lively and frank debate about where Turkish shipping and
shipbuilding is today, and what it is going to do next.

Ably chaired by Mrs Sadan Kaptanoglu, the first Mare Forum in Istanbul,
held on Tuesday 10th March at the Ritz Carlton, discussed the place of
Turkish shipping and shipbuilding in the world today, and how it could
position itself to survive and prosper from the world economic crunch.

There was optimism aplenty, despite gloomy figures on yard cancellations
and potential exposure for owners who have ordered internationally. Why?
First and foremost, because as Servet Yardimci, president of Yardimci
Shipping hammered home, Turkish shipowners are a tough and resilient
lot, and they know how to handle tough times. And more tangibly, because
Turkey is one of the few countries in the world today that has strong,
well capitalised and well regulated banks. They had their crisis eight
years ago, and Metin Kalkavan, executive committee chief of Turzon
Holding and chairman of the Turkish Chamber of Shipping told the forum
that if other countries followed Turkey’s example and nationalised their
banks quickly, the world financial crisis would be over sooner.

Esref Cerrahoglou, chairman of the Cerrahgil group, said the banks had
money but are stress testing Turkish shipping and they and the
government are slow to act. The key to the future will be that the
Turkish banks, about six of which have shipping expertise, step forward
to provide post delivery finance for Turkish owners. Yavuz Kalkavan,
general manager of the Besiktas group, told the conference that his
group’s yard was fully booked, his fleet is employed and he would pay
for the series of ship on order in Korea, although they are negotiating
to change capesize orders into aframaxes. However, he emphasised that it
would take a large equity commitment and he also would like to see more
Turkish bank support.

The Forum heard from Batu Aksoy, vice chairman of Tucas Petroleum, that
Turkey present opportunities in energy transport, and that a new
petroleum law will soon open up more ways in which Turkish owners can
compete and also help exploration for oil and gas in the Black Sea. He
highlighted the need to liberalise Turkey’s energy market in order to
promote energy security and removed the dependency on a very limited
number of sources.

When it came to shipbuilding, there were numerous interventions but it
was Professor Yucel Odabasi who set out a route map for Turkish yards.
Key recommendations, welcomed by several yard owners, were for more
joint working in work sharing centres, more joint purchasing and for the
development of a Turkish National Shipbuilding Standard to ease
contracting.

And talking about money, which was done a lot, Professor Oral Erdogan
summed it up best, that the state needed to get involved to change the
way the banks think and act in order to liberate the gap funding which
yards and owners need now.

One other high point was a lunchtime speech by the US Consul General,
Sharon Wiener, who emphasised the important role Turkey has to play in
world affairs, and also its improved relations with the USA under the
new administration. She also confirmed that she was actively working on
planning for a visit from President Obama in the near future.

Turkey as a whole is stronger and more
optimistic than most outsiders think.

Turkish banks are strong and well run.

Turkey is investing heavily in maritime
education and training and there is demand for that from young Turkish
people.

Turkey is once again recognised by the
USA as a key regional power.

Other economies should learn from the
Turkish experience and nationalise their weak banks quickly.

The weaker Turkish lira is welcomed by
the shipping and shipbuilding sector.

Turkish owners are resilient, well
diversified and will come through the crisis.

What has to be done:

Turkey needs to liberalise its energy
market in order to promote energy security. There is a new petroleum law
in front of the government and it needs to be passed quickly.

Turkish banks need to provide longer
term post delivery finance for ships than they currently do.

Yards, owners and financiers involved
in Turkey must co-ordinate and synchronise their responses to the
crisis.

There are unrealised
opportunities in Turkey for LNG imports, energy shipping, ship repair
and perhaps also ship recycling.

Turkish yards must focus on flexible
and tailor made designs and high quality.

Turkish yards need to co-operate more
on shared work centres and purchasing.

Turkish yards need to develop common
Turkish Shipbuilding Standards to incorporate in contracts.

Turkish yards need the government to
act as a catalyst for this co-operation and modernisation.

Better regulation and education will
cut the accident rate in Turkish shipyards.

Turkeys must maintain its current focus
and investment in maritime training and not cut back because of a short
term crisis.

Turkish owners need the government to
act quickly to free up Turkish bank finance for them or to set up a
Credit Trust Fund to cushion them during the crisis.

Owners and yards want government help
but do not seek a net subsidy. They simply want the same support given
to owners and yards in competing countries.

The overall message was, “We’ve got the
assets, we’ve got the people, we’ve got the knowledge, we’ve got the money
and we are in the right place – now we need a little help to get everything
pulling together in the right direction and we’ll come out of the crisis as
a strong nation with good resources and ready to be a key part of the
world’s largest trading bloc.”